A toxic algal bloom off South Australia’s coast, active since March, has killed over 200 marine species, including sharks and octopuses.
Stretching across roughly 150km of coastline, the bloom has had a devastating impact, with ray-finned fish making up 47% of the deaths and another 26% being sharks and rays, according to OzFish data reported by The Guardian.
The culprit, Karenia mikimotoi, acts like a poisonous blanket, suffocating marine life, said Brad Martin, OzFish’s South Australia project manager.
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Unprecedented Algal Bloom Devastates Marine Life in South Australia
The algae produces poison which acts like a blanket above the water body and suffocates marine life, including fish, rays and sharks to death. “It’s an unprecedented event, because the bloom has continued to build and build,” wildlife scientist Vanessa Pirotta said, it was reported.
Martin further explained that toxic algae can suffocate fish by blocking their gills. It can also cause haemorrhaging by attacking their red blood cells. Additionally, the algae acts as a neurotoxin, which could attack the creature’s nervous system. This disruption can lead to unusual behaviour in the affected animals.
“This is why some fish and sharks are acting so strangely and why many of the dead have a red tinge, it is like a horror movie for fish,” Martin said.
One of the causes of the algal bloom, identified by the state’s environmental department, is the ongoing marine heatwave. This heatwave has caused the water temperature to rise by 2.5 degrees Celsius.
The density of the algal bloom is high, which leads to a reduction in oxygen levels in the water. As a result, the fish are suffocating to death. This serious event has been documented, with people sending pictures and videos of dead wildlife. Many of these images show the animals washed up on beaches.
According to South Australia’s environment minister, the outbreak has grown to an unprecedented magnitude.
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